A former head of the European bank analysis team at Morgan Stanley, Mr Serra has become one of the most well known hedgies on the London scene. With his thick Italian accent, he talks so fast that it is frankly quite difficult to know whether he spouts genius or gobbledegook, but whichever it is, his despair at what's happening in Europe, and his frequent broadsides at UK tax and spend policies is certainly on the money.

You've also got to like the idea, which he sometimes espouses, that the perfect combination in business is that of loyalty to family and clan – very Italian – and the very British concept, soundly based in law, of fiduciary duty. As an Italian financier who bases his business in London, he naturally claims to be that combination. In any case, he seems effortlessly to be inveigling his way into the upper echelons of the British establishment.

Yet is it entirely appropriate for someone who trades these markets to be advising Number 10 on how best to exploit them? Absolutely, you might say, because the vendor will be lost without decent market intelligence. On the other hand, there is bound to be something of a conflict of interest here, for Mr Serras's Algebris Investments makes its money from investing in precisely this kind of stuff.

In any case, I'm sure Mr Serra gave some excellent advice; his briefing note seemed to suggest that the downsizing and break up of RBS had gone far enough, and that things should now be allowed to settle if the Government wants successfully to offload its investment.

I don't doubt he's right. But however clever he is, there is one thing he's still got to learn – never let your briefing document flutter in the breeze anywhere near the paparazzi of Downing Street. It's amazing how many still do it.